Cheney released from hospital after heart transplant surgery

Former US vice president Dick Cheney was released Tuesday from a Virginia hospital 10 days after heart transplant surgery, his spokeswoman said.

The heart transplant March 25 at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Virginia, was the latest in a series of operations and interventions for Cheney, who has had a long history of heart troubles and who remains a prominent political figure.

Cheney “would like to thank the physicians at Inova Fairfax and George Washington University Hospitals for the outstanding care they have provided,” his spokeswoman Kara Ahern said in a statement.

“As he leaves the hospital, the former vice president and his family want to again express their deep gratitude to the donor and the donor’s family for this remarkable gift.”

At the time of the procedure, Cheney’s spokeswoman said he was unaware of who the donor was but that he and his family would “be forever grateful.”

Cheney, 71, a central figure in the “war on terror” launched by the United States in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks, had been on a list for the transplant for more than 20 months, according to the spokeswoman.

Cheney served eight years as vice president in the administration of George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009.